BY WINSTON CHAI

COMPUTER peripherals maker Razer plans to double its Singapore headcount to sharpen its R&D edge and make the island a test-bed for its state-of- the-art gaming gear.

'We already have close to 100 staff in our Singapore office and are looking to create at least 100 new jobs,' says Tan Min-Liang, chief executive of California-based Razer.

The company - which makes peripherals such as hyper-sensitive mouses and specialised keyboards for computer games - has a research facility in Chai Chee, on top of a development base in the US. The Singapore unit is credited with the development of the popular Razer Mamba mouse, a product singled out by Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam as an example of local R&D innovation in his Budget speech this year.

'While the Singapore lab is an extension of the R&D work we're doing in California, we also intend to use Singapore as a test bed for many new projects,' Mr Tan tells BizIT.

For example, Razer's local product engineers are working with US-based games developer Blizzard Entertainment on a range of custom-made peripherals for its upcoming title StarCraft II.

This collaboration will result in new products integrated with the features of the game, a successor to the runaway hit StarCraft. The products will give hardcore players an advantage over opponents in a game where a split-second mouse click can make the difference between victory or defeat.

Specialised gaming keyboards and mouses have been the forte of companies such Razer, Logitech and Revoltec. But the Razer-Blizzard tie-up is one of the first attempts to raise customisation to a new level. And Razer is on the prowl for similar partnerships with game developers in Singapore and other parts of the region.

'We intend to work closely with local and regional gaming companies to build core competencies in next-generation gaming technologies as well as seek out co-development opportunities with content providers,' Mr Tan says.

Razer's local expansion plan is the latest pat on the back for the Singapore government in its push to grow the nascent interactive digital media (IDM) sector, of which computer games is an integral component.

In recent years, the authorities have pumped millions of dollars into seed research projects and co-funding the development of gaming titles. The Media Development Authority, for example, manages a $500 million fund from the National Research Foundation.

MDA has also roped in institutions such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to set up gaming labs, and has rallied investors and distributors to set aside more money to fund local productions.

Sister agencies such as the Economic Development Board have weighed in by wooing foreign media giants to locate their development operations here. This has led to local expansion by gaming giants such as Electronic Arts, Japan's Koei Entertainment and Ubisoft.

'Gaming is recession-resistant to a certain extent,' says Mr Tan. 'It's probably one of the most cost-effective forms of entertainment.

'With the downturn, more people are staying home, watching movies and playing games as opposed to taking expensive holidays.

'Business has been good and we've been seeing double-digit growth year-on-year despite the recession.'

This article was first published in The Business Times.